Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi cross-examined in petition over his August 9th victory
Wajir governor Ahmed Abdullahi Jiir was on Tuesday, December 13 put to task to explain how he clinched victory in the August 9 polls
Cross-examined by lawyer Mansur Issa for the petitioner former NHIF chief executive officer Hassan Adam, the governor was put to task to explain how he won the hotly contested gubernatorial race.
The governor maintained that he was duly elected as he dismissed claims that he benefited from election malpractices and illegality.
This is even as he admitted having a parallel tallying centre at his residence.
The governor said that he learned there was chaos and Eldas leading to the postponement of the election to the following day.
Justice George Nduru heard that the communication for the postponement was done by the IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati after he received the complaints of insecurity in the area by the security chiefs.
Abdullahi was further put to task to explain how politics in Wajir is largely clan-based. In his response informed the court that there are 12 Degodia sub-clans and 11 had unanimously endorsed him and only the FAI sub-clan to which Adam belongs was indecisive.
The sub-clan had produced four candidates running for the office of the governor (Ugas Mohamed, Mohamed Elmi, Mohamed Abdi Mohamud and the petitioner).
At the same time, the governor agreed with the petitioner's allegations that there was violence at the Eldas constituency during the August elections but not enough to postpone elections.
He however told the court that he was not aware when the violence was contained by the security personnel deployed adding that the same violence was occasioned by a disagreement between two parliamentary contestants
"I am aware there were security incidents at Wajir east constituency on August 6 and 7 and we buried 4 people and that was not a reason to postpone elections," said Abdullahi
He told the court that It was not the first time such incidents happened in that constituency and that's the main reason that there are security forces in Turbo.
In the petition, the petitioner Adam had told the court that IEBC unlawfully and without sufficient reason and/or just cause postponed the elections in Eldas Constituency within Wajir County to 10 August 2022.
The petitioner further told justice Ndulu that there was no communication made to the candidates in relation to the postponement yet they had already deployed their agents to their respective polling stations.
Adam in his petition claims Abdullahi was not validly elected as governor for Wajir county and that the IEBC did not put in mechanisms to ensure that the voters were biometrically identified before being allowed to vote for candidates in a number of polling stations in Wajir county.
“As a consequence of this unlawful postponement, there was interference with the voting held on 10 August this year with cases of intimidation and coercion of voters in several polling stations in Eldas constituency,” says Adam
He wants the court to declare that the current Governor and his deputy were not validly elected as the County Governor and Deputy Governor.
Adam vied for the governor's seat on the Jubilee party ticket and lost to Abdullahi of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party. He garnered 27,224 votes against Abdullahi's 35,533 votes.
